afp.com/Jordan queen says anti-IS fight key to saving Islam

Jordan’s Queen Rania on Tuesday urged support for US-led air strikes against the Islamic State group, saying the future of the Middle East and Islam was at stake.

“Our silence is the greatest gift” for IS, which has seized large swathes of Iraq and Syria, she told participants at a media summit in Abu Dhabi.

“We are complicit in their success,” added the queen, whose Hashemite kingdom has joined the US-led air campaign against IS in Syria along with Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

“The coalition must be broader… It’s the fight for the future of the Middle East and Islam,” she said. “It’s a fight that we have to win.”

Analysts have warned of the dangers for Jordan from its participation in the campaign against IS, an extremist group that has committed widespread atrocities in areas under its control.

Amman is grappling with its own extremists, some of whom have joined fighters in Iraq and Syria.

The United States has also launched bombing raids against IS in Iraq with the involvement of European allies.